Jive Dadson
04-20-2004, 04:53 PM
What, if anything, can we do about deplorable deportment at the poker table?
I've been playing in the card rooms around San Jose CA since 1984. I have watched a steady decline in the behavior of players, beginning the day the first oval table was carted onto the floor.
When the players sat at a round table and dealt the cards themselves, new players went through an educational initiation into "the club." They had to learn not only how to shuffle and deal legally, but also how to act in general. If a player acted out of turn, commented the game during the play of the hand, or otherwise behaved inappropriately, someone at the table would correct him. If the new player was unrepentant, four or five players would all chime in, politely explaining the what and why. The neophyte usually came around in short order, and soon he was "one of the boys."
Today, if a player takes another to task, the frequent result is a nasty confrontation. Players look to the dealer as an arbiter, which is not fair to the players or to the dealer. It's not fair to the players, because the dealer frequently makes the wrong call. It's not fair to the dealer, because he works for tips, and understandably does not wish to alienate any player. When one player calls the floorman to admonish another player, it's even worse. The offending player thinks, "Who is this jerk to call the police on me? Who does he think he is?"
There has been a loss of continuity in the poker tradition. I frequently play at tables where I am the only fogy. The other players are either young, or they are recent immigrants. Interestingly, based on only one recent visit, deportment does not seem to be as bad at the older card club in my area. I've only recently started going there again. It is miles farther from my house than the newer one. I played in the older club Sunday, in a game that was both civil and unrushed. The mix of players was exactly as I've described - some young, the others apparently new to this country. It was a joy to play in that game. It occurred to me today (Tuesday) that although everyone at that particular table was a relative newcomer to the game, when I looked around at other tables, I recognized many seasoned veterans. I think the oral tradition is not "as dead" in the older club as it is in the new one. But one can speculate that unless there is a revival of the old oral poker tradition in the new age of the internet, we will see an insidious Lord of the Rings type spiral into poker anarchy.
What, if anything, can be done?
Here are some ideas, just off the top of my head:
1. It would be great if we could convince the WPT TV show to introduce short segments (perhaps 60 seconds each) that explain table etiquette. (It would also be nice if they instructed the TV players not to cheer their own successes, but I suspect they tell them just the opposite.)
2. The participants in these TwoPlusTwo boards could draft a set of suggested rules. Get the columnists of Card Player magazine involved.
3. Start a campaign to get players to insist that clubs prominently post etiquette rules and enforce them.
Your ideas?
I've been playing in the card rooms around San Jose CA since 1984. I have watched a steady decline in the behavior of players, beginning the day the first oval table was carted onto the floor.
When the players sat at a round table and dealt the cards themselves, new players went through an educational initiation into "the club." They had to learn not only how to shuffle and deal legally, but also how to act in general. If a player acted out of turn, commented the game during the play of the hand, or otherwise behaved inappropriately, someone at the table would correct him. If the new player was unrepentant, four or five players would all chime in, politely explaining the what and why. The neophyte usually came around in short order, and soon he was "one of the boys."
Today, if a player takes another to task, the frequent result is a nasty confrontation. Players look to the dealer as an arbiter, which is not fair to the players or to the dealer. It's not fair to the players, because the dealer frequently makes the wrong call. It's not fair to the dealer, because he works for tips, and understandably does not wish to alienate any player. When one player calls the floorman to admonish another player, it's even worse. The offending player thinks, "Who is this jerk to call the police on me? Who does he think he is?"
There has been a loss of continuity in the poker tradition. I frequently play at tables where I am the only fogy. The other players are either young, or they are recent immigrants. Interestingly, based on only one recent visit, deportment does not seem to be as bad at the older card club in my area. I've only recently started going there again. It is miles farther from my house than the newer one. I played in the older club Sunday, in a game that was both civil and unrushed. The mix of players was exactly as I've described - some young, the others apparently new to this country. It was a joy to play in that game. It occurred to me today (Tuesday) that although everyone at that particular table was a relative newcomer to the game, when I looked around at other tables, I recognized many seasoned veterans. I think the oral tradition is not "as dead" in the older club as it is in the new one. But one can speculate that unless there is a revival of the old oral poker tradition in the new age of the internet, we will see an insidious Lord of the Rings type spiral into poker anarchy.
What, if anything, can be done?
Here are some ideas, just off the top of my head:
1. It would be great if we could convince the WPT TV show to introduce short segments (perhaps 60 seconds each) that explain table etiquette. (It would also be nice if they instructed the TV players not to cheer their own successes, but I suspect they tell them just the opposite.)
2. The participants in these TwoPlusTwo boards could draft a set of suggested rules. Get the columnists of Card Player magazine involved.
3. Start a campaign to get players to insist that clubs prominently post etiquette rules and enforce them.
Your ideas?